Retired American Press editor Jim Beam has covered politics and people for more than 40 years.

He is the author of Positively Beaming a hardbound collection of favorite columns.

Forget train ride anytime soon

Posted October 4, 2009 at 7:17 am
Filed Under By Jim Beam | 2 Comments

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to hop on a high-speed train in Lake Charles and take a quick trip to Lafayette, Baton Rouge or New Orleans for $10, $20 or $30?

A far-fetched idea? Maybe, but it sounds like something that has tremendous potential. Unfortunately, it may have to be an issue for another generation of Louisianians with more foresight than we are getting out of the current governor’s office.

The state had a shot at getting $300 million in federal money to initiate high-speed rail service from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, but it’s too late now. The deadline to apply for the money was Friday.

Why did we pass on this one? Two reasons have been put forward, so take your pick.

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration passed on the grant, saying it didn’t have the $18 million it would take each year to maintain the proposed rail service. Officials said fares wouldn’t be sufficient to cover those costs.

The initial service would have been between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, but Lafayette and Lake Charles would have been the next logical stopping points in years to come. It has been estimated that nearly 900,000 passengers would use the rail line in its first year of operation.

Was it politics?

Presidential politics has been suggested as the second reason the idea was dropped. It’s no secret that Jindal has his eyes on the presidency some time in the future.

Remember when the governor gave the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s first message to Congress? The speech bombed and Jindal specifically criticized the idea of federal grants for rail systems.

Those remarks would come back to bite the governor after it was learned his state Department of Transportation and Development was trying to secure a rail grant. National commentators had a field day recalling Jindal’s earlier put-down of the high-speed rail program.

DOTD dropped the plans like a hot potato. However, The Advocate of Baton Rouge reported a serious effort had been under way to secure the grant.

“That effort was led by Tom Atkinson, acting assistant secretary of public works, hurricane/flood protection and intermodal transportation,” the newspaper said.

Atkinson believed a rail line between Baton Rouge and New Orleans could be up and running by 2013. And a comment he made indicated other areas along the coast would eventually benefit.

“Long-term, we see it as a very valuable economic incubator for the entire corridor,” he told the newspaper.

The rail line would eventually include Houston, Mobile and Atlanta.

The rail service possibility had widespread support from many quarters. Three of the state’s congressmen touted its potential.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and U.S. Reps. Anh “Joseph” Cao, R-New Orleans, and Charlie Melancon, D-Napoleonville, pleaded with Jindal to reconsider his stand.

“The proposed rail would stimulate economic development in the region and improve future hurricane evacuations,” they said in a letter to the governor. “Forfeiting this opportunity now could set the project back decades.”

Cao told the New Orleans Times-Picayune he has been trying to come up with a plan to get alternate sources of money to pay the maintenance and operating costs. He is a member of the congressional Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The Capital Region Legislative Delegation also wrote the governor in support of the project.

“There is significant interest and support within our delegation for continued pursuit of funding for and study of the feasibility of passenger rail service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans,” the letter said.

New Orleans legislators said in a letter to Jindal, “It is shocking the governor and the (DOTD) secretary will not even put the application in.”

All of those pleas fell on deaf ears.

The state is going through three years of budget nightmares, so money is a problem. There isn’t $18 million floating around for the rail service maintenance.

“We don’t think it’s responsible for the state to submit a request for a project we know we cannot afford,” Stephen Waguespack, Jindal’s deputy chief of staff, said. “The reality is that in the existing financial climate, the state does not have the dollars to support the project.”

Concession isn’t much

Jindal did agree to a request to set up a group to study the feasibility of building such a rail system and ways to finance maintenance of the rail line.

How many times have political leaders set up study groups that go practically nowhere?

Having $300 million in hand to begin serious planning for a high-speed rail system would have been a great motivator to get concrete plans on the drawing board. It would have given planners money and time to come up with a possible solution for financing the rail service.

Many states are seeking the rail funds, and there was no guarantee Louisiana would get any. However, we know it won’t now since the state didn’t even ask. And another state will end up with what might have been our money.

Everything I have read on the rail line issue leads me to believe the decision to pass on the federal money was more political than financial. It was a face-saving move for Jindal since he opposed the idea in that ill-fated speech. State money woes appear to have been simply a convenient excuse for doing nothing.

Comments

2 Responses to “Forget train ride anytime soon”

stimulus grant writer on October 13th, 2009 10:42 pm

Have you actually read the ARRA? Do you know what the acronym stands for? I do. You are wrong about Jindals’s motivation being financial, in my opinion. Read the law. See the attached strings.
Ray Coltrin on October 21st, 2009 11:44 am

I haven’t read the ARRA referred to in the above comment, but I think Gov. Jindal has made a number of blunders since taking office. You were right in exposing this phenominal mistake. The economic activity created by such a project would more than cover the $18 million in rail service maintenance. Wouldn’t we love to have a new industry in the state that would spend $18 million on management, labor, and materials? Doesn’t this money multiply 8 times as it moves throughout the economy? This doesn’t begin to count the millions generated in new sales taxes by increased commerce along the corridor. Mr. Beam, please stay on this story. I believe it is important to our state’s future. Can you imagine someday in the future this nation having its own version of “Euro-pass?”

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